Guardian of the Lost Plane
by TranscodeNightCat
Summary: Aaron was a trainer in the Hoen region ready to get his eighth gym badge. Sadly, he was sucked in to a new dimension that was created by the legendaries of Sinnoh constantly fighting. He managed to escape, but not without it altering him. He now seeks to prevent others from getting lost in the dimension, and to prevent any evil from escaping or entering it. Contains OC, magic.
1. Prologue

Aaron walked with his Sandslash by his side. Aaron was eleven years old brown haired and yellow eyed. His hair always stuck up in weird places, and Aaron never bothered to comb it because he liked it that way. Aaron came from Verdanturf Town in the Hoenn region and was very eager and excited when he started his journey with a Sandshrew by his side. Aaron challenged gym after gym collecting badges as he prepared to challenge the Pokémon League.

Aaron was always happy when he travelled, especially with his partner. Aaron was currently walking on the edge of Mossdeep City looking at his newest gym badge; he now had seven badges and was one away from challenging the Pokémon League. "Sandslash, were almost ready to get our next badge. Let's go!" Aaron said excitedly as he started running to the docks ready to catch a helicopter to Sootopolis City. Just then, a portal opened up near Aaron and acted like a vacuum as it started sucking the surroundings in to it. Aaron tried running, but the force was too strong as he felt himself and his Sandslash get sucked in to the portal.

Aaron landed on a hard surface and sat up rubbing his head while his Sandslash fell in to his lap. "Ugh, where are we?" Aaron asked looking around while his Sandslash just shrugged its shoulders. Aaron looked around and was standing on a rocky ledge with several boulders and several crystal formations of varying colors growing out of the side. "Anyone here?" Aaron asked loudly. Just then a swarm of bat-like creatures attacked with an unusual purple lighting. Aaron shielded himself over his Sandslash; Aaron scooped him up and jumped from the ledge as he landed on another one. He ducked in to a cave and watched as the bat-creatures flew by in an angry swarm. "No way those were Pokémon." Aaron said breathing a sigh of relief. "We're not safe out there. Let's look around this cave and see if we can find something to help us escape this place." Aaron said as his Sandslah nodded his head and they began walking through the cave. Aaron illuminated their path with a flashlight that was constantly shaking from Aaron's fear as he walked with his partner always checking to make sure that he was still there. They could hear cries and shrieks in the distance only causing Aaron to close his eyes wincing from the painful cries. He continued moving through the cave, but Aaron tripped over something, and looked over to see a white crystal growing out of the ground. It wasn't like the other crystals which all grew in clusters; this one was a lone, perfectly shaped crystal with a large point on the end that almost looked as though it had been carved on the bottom. Aaron put it in his pocket thinking that it might be important or valuable.

Aaron made it to a clearing in the cave where his flashlight suddenly died covering them in a veil of darkness. Aaron kept hitting it hoping that it would turn on, but it didn't, then a series of blue flamed torches suddenly illuminated the room that they were in. Aaron saw a large stone tablet nearby with something carved in to it; he ran over to it, but jumped back a little when he saw a skull sitting next to it. Aaron regained his composure as he began reading the tablet.

 _This realm is the culmination of the worlds belonging to Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, and yet this realm is on its own dimensional plane. This world is everything and nothing at the same time. Time seems to have come to a stop, nothing is how it should be, almost enough to drive one mad. I never seem to grow hungry or thirsty, and my appearance has remained constant, but I still feel the need to sleep. If you are reading this, I have probably died as I have been pursued by several creatures unknown to earth. I found myself in this realm as I followed Dialga and Palkia's constant struggles. My readings pointed to dimensional rifts being created by their fighting, and I found one, but before I could get an accurate reading, I was sucked in. I saw many unusual artifacts, ruins, and items from different times and dimensions. I thought to explore them and hopefully find an escape to this maddening world, but fear gripped me as the creatures and people of this plane began hunting me._

 _I took refuge in this cavern hoping to escape them, but that didn't last long as they grew closer to me. As it turned out, I was not alone in these caverns. I came across another human. He saved me from some creatures ready to attack us. He called forth his Arcanine from sort of red crystal spike. He told me that he discovered a pristine crystal of utmost perfection, and his Pokémon reacted with it as it was absorbed in to the crystal like magic. He called it a capture crystal. It seems that they are scattered about this plane as I have found a few and stored my Pokémon in them when my pokeballs seemed to become distorted by this world's energy._

Aaron immediately looked at his pokeballs and saw how the metal seemed to be warped and cracks formed in them. "Sandslash, I guess that weird crystal is going to have some use." Aaron said as he pulled the white crystal from his pocket and touched it to his Sandslash's head. It was absorbed in to the crystal and Aaron watched as the crystal turned to a golden brown color matching the hide of his Sandslash. Aaron called it from the crystal and continued reading the carving.

 _Using the crystals, we seemed able to draw out part of our Pokémon's power without calling them out. The one with the red crystal seemed to be able to shoot a stream of fire for short periods of time. He protected me until a tragic event unfolded. We were fighting off a swarm of disgruntled Pokémon who fell in to the realm, but sadly the other was defeated while I barely escaped with my life. When the life left his body, his crystals also vanished, and I assume the same will happen to me when I perish. He saved my life, and I am eternally grateful to his heroism._

 _By the time you read to this part, this cave has most likely shifted positions like all things of this dimension which rarely appear in the same place twice. I watched the cavern move and noticed purple lightning striking the ground. The blasts of energy seem to come from a larger vortex located at the center of this plane. The energy is like no other. It seems to create chaos and stabilize this world at the same time. Truly a remarkable sight._

 _…_

 _Sadly I am not alone once more. I have seen several people wandering this dimension, but I fear communicating with them as this place has made me paranoid as I should be. I have seen several people embrace the chaos in this place as they capture lost Pokémon in the crystals and battle others taking their life away. I fear they may come for me next as I see several camps grow closer to my cave. I caught a glimpse of one of their camps. I watched as they used weapons with the capture crystals embedded in to them. I observed the process of how these weapons were made, and saw the crystals show some sort of desire to merge with the object as they change shape attempting to fit in with the object. Like the Arcanine trainer, the weapons seem to be able to draw a portion of the Pokémon's power out. This knowledge would be useful to me if I could actually get my hands on a weapon._

 _This is my last entry as I fear my time is running short. I hear footsteps approaching in the cavern. My life will most likely end here. This is my history in the realm that I have dubbed The Lost Plane. Hopefully you escape this world and use my knowledge to avoid suffering the same fate as me._

Aaron leaned on the wall and slid down it and thought about everything that he just read. "I might never make it out of here. No one is going to come look for me. I'm most likely going to die here, and no one will care." Aaron said as he started crying. Aaron's Sandslash tried to comfort him, but it was no use. That was not the worst of their problems as they heard footsteps and voices. "Sandslash, dig us a tunnel." Aaron said as the Pokémon quickly got to work as he and Aaron jumped down the hole and covered it with a rock. Aaron's eyes peeked out from under the rock as he watched two people enter the cavern.

"Are you sure you saw someone enter the cave?" Aaron heard a strong man holding a large axe ask to a small teen holding a sword.

"I know that I did." He said nervously.

"Well they're not here, and you've wasted my time." The man said as he swung the axe chopping the boy clean in half. Aaron was about to scream from watching the violent act, but he restrained himself not wanting to give away his hiding place and suffer the same fate as the boy whose blood now stained the floor. The man picked up the sword and walked off not even wincing at the gore; he actually seemed to be smiling as he walked away.

"That was too close." Aaron said as he and his Sandslash crawled out from the hole. "We're going to get out of here. I promise." Aaron said wiping a tear from his eye and hugging his Sandslash who hugged him back. "We'll rest here, but we have to find a way out." Aaron said resting his head on a rock as a pillow while his Sandslash huddled closely to Aaron.

After he woke up, Aaron spent what felt like hours searching for a portal that would take him home. He moved from rock formation to rock formation trying to find a sign of finding a way out. "We're never going to get out of here." Aaron said sitting on the edge of a cliff burying his face in to his hands. "Makes my gym badges seem worthless." Aaron sighed as he looked at the badge case with only one empty slot remaining.

Aaron looked at the badges again and scowled. "My ties to my old life and childhood are holding me back. If I'm going to get out of here, I need to grow up and leave the past behind." Aaron said as he put the badges away and stood up; he saw an old castle floating on an island in the distance. "Maybe that place will have something that I can use." Aaron said as he began jumping from ledge to ledge with his Sandslash following him with the same look of determination.

Aaron saw the large vortex mentioned in the carving and saw it give off violent bursts of energy as he got closer to the castle. Aaron was jumping from ledge to ledge while his Sandslash followed behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron could see a bolt of purple lightning travelling towards his Sandslash. Instinctively, Aaron jumped from the ledge he was on to shield his partner from the attack; he would risk his own life to protect his Sandslash. He hugged his Sandslash tightly while they were both hit by the purple lightning. They screamed in agony as the energy coursed through their bodies. When the energy dissipated, Aaron looked at his partner to see that his hide was now white, and his spines were now purple. Aaron then saw his own reflection in some crystals and saw that his once brown hair was now white and his eyes were purple.

"What was that?" Aaron asked his partner as he kept trying to understand their new appearances. "It kind of feels like the energy of this place is coursing through my body." Aaron said as his eyes glowed briefly causing him to wince as he saw a purple lightning bolt. Aaron's Sandslash nodded its head feeling the same thing. Aaron pulled the crystal from his pocket and saw that it was now purple; he put it back in his pocket. Aaron continued jumping up the ledges once more as he approached the castle; along the way he collected a few more capture crystals that he found. The door was unlocked, and Aaron and his Sandslash walked inside.

They started exploring the castle; they climbed several stairs where they found themselves at the top of one of the towers. It appeared to be a wizard's tower. Aaron started poking around the room looking at all of the unusual items and books. "Spell books, these might come in handy." Aaron said as he began thumbing through one of the books. The pages were blank, but when Aaron looked at them again he saw text written in perfect English. Aaron put the book as well as several others in his bag. Sitting in the corner Aaron saw a staff with a white handle and four triangular, arched prongs that looked like they held an orb of some sort at one point. Aaron picked up the staff and pulled the crystal from his pocket. Like the carving said, the crystal seemed to react with the staff as it placed itself in the middle of the prongs. Aaron grabbed a few more books and relics and packed them in to his bag before walking out of the room with the staff in his hand.

They left the castle and saw another medieval building nearby; it turned out to be a tailor's shop. "If I'm ditching the past, then I might as well change my outfit." Aaron said looking around the shop. He selected a snow white cloak that was clasped together by a small purple gem that was surrounded by gold; he pulled the hood up covering the top half of his face. Underneath, he wore a pair of black pants, a white t-shirt, and a pair of black boots. Aaron looked at his backpack and saw how it stuck out with his new appearance. He picked up a brown leather shoulder bag and transferred his stuff in to it. Aaron then picked up a pair of white gloves with a purple trim and put them over his hands.

Aaron admired his new outfit in a partially cracked mirror in the room. He was interrupted by the cries of a Pokémon. Aaron recalled his Sandslash to the staff and followed the Pokémon cries readying his staff for an attack if the Pokémon turned out to be hostile. Aaron was now standing in the back room of the tailor's shop where he saw a Xatu sitting on a perch. It cowered shadowing its face with its wings. Aaron put his staff down and walked over to the Pokémon slowly pulling his hood down; he stroked its head. "I'm not going to hurt you." Aaron said smiling at it as the Xatu lifted his head from its wings. It nuzzled Aaron's hand as he comforted it. "I'm trying to find a way out. Do you want to come with us?" Aaron asked calling his Sandslash from the staff. The Xatu nodded his head as Aaron held out a capture crystal; the crystal turned green when the Xatu was caught. Aaron held the crystal up to his left glove and watched as it embedded itself on the back hand of the glove. He recalled his Sandslash and left the tailor's shop. He used the Xatu's power as he created small gusts of wind to propel himself upwards.

Aaron saw several people attacking a blue figure that was fighting them off. Aaron called out his Sandslash. "Let's go save that guy." Aaron said as he and his Sandslash ran at the group. "Sandslash, fury swipes these guys to pieces!" Aaron shouted as his Sandlash crossed its claws which seemed to glow with a purple tinge as it slashed the attackers. One of them hit it with a club causing it to cringe in pain, and Aaron to do the same as he felt the pain as well. Aaron's Sandslash then did something unusual as it unleashed a wave of the purple lightning which knocked all of the attackers back and caused them to run out of fear. "I think that lightning did something to us. It gave you a new attack, and it seems to make us share pain like were linked." Aaron said looking at his partner. Aaron saw one of the guys running back at them while he had a purple glow in his eye causing him to wince. "Sandslash, void lightning!" Aaron shouted as his Pokémon shot a blast of purple lightning from its claws at the attacker who collapsed on to his back. "Let's go save that guy." Aaron said recalling his Sandslash realizing that the void somehow told him the name of the attack.

Aaron ran to a large boulder and saw the blue figure hiding behind it; it was a Lucario. "It's okay. They're gone now." Aaron told it. "You can come with me if you want." Aaron said holding up a capture crystal. The Lucario nodded her head as Aaron touched it with the crystal which was now a blue color as he embedded it on the back hand of his right glove. Aaron started moving again, and like the carving said, he eventually found himself moving in circles until he found himself in the cave again. Aaron sat in front of the carved tablet and thought about everything that happened. "These badges are worthless." Aaron said removing them from his bag and burying them near the skull of the perished traveler. "These are my tribute to you, wise traveler." Aaron sighed as he sat down on the floor of the cave.

The inside of his bag started glowing. Aaron opened it and pulled out the glowing object which was his spell book. Aaron began thumbing through the pages thinking that there might be something inside that would help him escape.

 _To travel between dimensions simply draw this ritual and concentrate deeply on your destination as you focus your energies._

Drawn below was a ritual circle that had several rune symbols drawn in to it. Aaron began dragging the tip of his staff across the ground as he drew the circle following the design precisely. Aaron was about to start the ritual, but the text in the book changed.

 _Not only shall you travel through space, but also time. Your energy shall be exhausted as you travel._

Aaron memorized the spell and closed the book concentrating on his destination. He started reciting the spell while the ritual circle started glowing.

 _To travel between worlds across time and space, I shatter the barriers and create a rift in time and space to build a bridge linking the worlds together._

The circle turned purple as a portal opened up in front of Aaron; he jumped through it and found himself standing where he was when he was originally sucked in to the portal. He fell on to his knee breathing heavily from using up most of his energy. He stood back up and clutched the staff tightly for support. He saw the helicopter in the distance and sighed knowing that part of his life was over. He pulled the hood of his cloak up and started walking away.

Throughout the city people were staring at Aaron. "Hey buddy the renaissance festival isn't until next month.", "Go back to Nerdia dork.", and "Hey look, it's an albino red riding hood." were only a few of the slurs directed at Aaron while several people took pictures of him. He ignored them, but he stopped in the street when his eyes glowed briefly and he saw the same purple lightning; he felt like it was telling him to go somewhere as he looked at his glove holding his Xatu and used its power to teleport to the location. He was in the Petalburg Woods; he saw something weird as a portal opened up next to him. Aaron's bag started glowing as he pulled out something resembling a magnifying glass. Aaron focused it on the portal and watched as it emitted a light closing it. "I guess I can sense where these portals open. It's like I'm tied to the Lost Plane." Aaron thought to himself as he teleported out of the forest.

Aaron walked north of Rustboro City and found a cave that he decided to make his home. He called out his Pokémon who helped him gather materials and renovate the cave so that it would be more hospitable. Aaron had a bed made of straw, and furniture that his Sandslash had carved from several trees that his Lucario cut down. Aaron worked with all of his Pokémon as they made a rock wall that had a hidden switch opening the door to the cavern that was now their home. Aaron smiled when the job was completed and looked at his team hugging all of them.

"This is our home now. We all share a bond. We suffered together in that void, and now it will be our job to protect anyone from suffering the same fate as us and to prevent any evil from escaping it. Hands in." Aaron said as he put his hand out and each Pokémon put a hand on it. "We are the guardians of the Lost Plane!" Aaron shouted as his Pokémon followed suit by letting out a loud battle cry.


	2. A Vortex Sighting

Aaron was currently in the middle of Slateport City where he had sealed another portal. Sometimes a person would emerge from the portal, and if they were evil, Aaron would battle them and take their remaining weapons and gear back to his hideout. If they were good, Aaron would do the best that he could to help them, and if they came from a different world, he would send them back. People nicknamed Aaron as Vortex; the name came from the fact that he was always found near the portals. Some people considered him a hero while others thought that he was the reason that all of the portals were opening.

Aaron just finished closing the portal by Slateport City when he had another vision of a portal opening. "Another one. Something tells me that this one was forced open." Aaron thought to himself. He used the crystal containing his Xatu to teleport to the location which was in the Petalburg woods.

Aaron hid himself in a tree as he watched the portal open; he used his Lucario's aura power as he sensed someone in the portal. Out of it stepped a woman with long purple hair. She had a snake-like bracelet that covered her lower arm with a purple crystal embedded in it. She also wore a gold belt with a dark green crystal in the middle; her outfit was an Asian-style dress. "Thisss foresst shall kneel at the powersss of my poissson typess." She said smiling evilly as Aaron quickly closed the portal and jumped from the tree.

"I can't let you hurt this forest." Aaron said pointing his staff at her.

"Oh my. What a cute little boy. Ssadly I don't have time to play gamess." She said taking a step forward and shooting a small stream of poison from her bracelet which caused Aaron to dodge it and shoot a beam of purple lighting from his staff at her which made her jump back.

"I don't have time to play games either." Aaron said as he held up his glove and called out his Xatu.

"Oooh, another hasss esscaped from the void. Thissss will be fun." She said holding up her bracelet and calling out her Arbok. "Arbok, poison ssting." She called out as the Arbok began firing poisonous needles.

"Xatu, wing attack." Aaron said as it charged at the Arbok and knocked it to the ground.

 _At the same time…_

A group of four consisting of Ash, Brock, Max, and May were currently walking through the Petalburg Woods. "Max, are you sure you know where we're going?" May asked looking down at her little brother.

"Yeah, we're almost there. The Pokenav says it shouldn't be much further." Max told her. The group of friends were currently walking to Rustboro City for one of May's contests, and there was a Pokémon breeder's convention that Brock wanted to go to. Ash was just hoping to find a battle to participate in.

The walk was rather peaceful until they heard a small explosion followed by several Pokémon flying off. "What was that?" Brock asked looking around.

"It sounds like a battle." Ash said as he ran after the source of the explosion.

"Wait up Ash." May said running after him while Max and Brock followed. They came to a clearing and saw the battle taking place.

"Looks more like a play than a battle." Max said looking at their outfits.

"Xatu, psychic." Aaron said as the Arbok was levitated in to the air and thrown causing it to faint.

"Looks real to me." Brock said looking at the fainted Arbok and crossing his arms.

The snake woman returned the Arbok to its crystal and looked over to see the spectators. "An audience, how nice." She said smiling at them.

"Hi, I'm Ash." Ash said smiling at her.

"Just stay back." Aaron said as the woman called out her Seviper.

"I wonder what his deal is." Ash said examining the hooded figure.

"Ssseviper, poison tail!" The woman shouted as her Pokémon charged at Aaron's Xatu who flew around dodging the tail lashings.

"That Xatu sure is quick." Brock said watching its agile movements.

"Teleport, then use wing attack." Aaron instructed as the Pokémon quickly disappeared and reappeared behind the Seviper hitting it directly with a powerful attack from its wings which made it faint. Aaron held out his glove and recalled his Xatu to its crystal.

"That's not a pokeball." Max said looking closely at Aaron's glove. The group then watched as Aaron walked over to the snake woman who fell on to her knees.

"Please, don't let thiss happen to me!" She said screaming as several small balls of light began forming around her and eventually enveloped her in the light until she disappeared. Aaron walked over to where she fell and picked up her bracelet, her belt, and rummaged through her bag which held a few knives that he pocketed; the bracelet and the belt's crystals vanished with her.

"What happened to that woman?" Brock asked looking at Aaron quizzically.

"She lost the battle." Aaron said putting the items in his bag.

"Yeah, but no one disappears after they lose a battle." Max blurted out.

"Not all battles are fun and games." Aaron told him turning around to walk away.

"Hey wait up." Ash called out as he ran after Aaron.

Aaron quickly turned around and blasted him back with a gust of wind from his glove. "Don't waste my time with your childish fantasies of wanting to be a Pokémon master." Aaron said as he teleported away while Brock and May helped Ash up.

"What's his deal?" Ash asked standing up.

"Let's not worry about it. We're almost to Rustboro City." Brock said pointing to the light coming from the end of the forest. Ash nodded his head as they all walked in to Rustboro City. They first went to the Pokémon center where they had their Pokémon healed. While they waited they looked at a bulletin board that had something interesting on it; it was a wanted poster. The picture was of a face with the top half covered by a white hood.

"It's that boy from the forest." May said.

"Here's what it says." Brock said as he started reading out loud.

 _Wanted: The boy known as Vortex is wanted by authorities for questioning concerning the mysterious portals opening and the people emerging from them._

"Maybe that snake woman was someone who emerged from one of those portals." May said.

"You think that he came from one of those portals? I mean the way he battles is kind of different." Brock said putting his hand under his chin. The group continued thinking about it as they grabbed their pokeballs and left the center.

They saw a group of kids run by. One of them was wearing a bed sheet fashioned in to a cloak and was running around holding a stick chasing the other kids. "I'm Vortex, and I'm going to stop you portal guys." He said waving the stick around.

"I guess that guy has a reputation." Ash said watching the kids play.

An older woman saw the confused look on their faces. "Why don't you kids come with me? I might be able to tell you a little bit more about this Vortex fellow." She said inviting them in her house. They all took a seat in her living room while she came back with a tray of tea and several pastries. Ash started devouring the pastries while the others sipped their tea. "Quite an appetite young man." She said smiling at him causing Ash to smile as he swallowed the pastry that he had in his hand.

"He's always had a big appetite. So what do you know about Vortex?" Brock asked sipping his tea.

"May I first ask what you know?" The woman asked.

"We saw him battling some woman in the woods, and when he defeated her she vanished. He then picked up some of her things. Plus he didn't use pokeballs. He seemed to call his Pokémon from some sort of crystals." Brock told her.

 _Meanwhile…_

Aaron was in his cavern and took the items from his bag and placed them with the rest of the items that he had collected. "I wonder how many more of them there are. Knowing that place, there's probably an infinite number of them." Aaron thought to himself as he made a note in one of his log books of the portals that he encountered that day and the people that he battled. After each battle, Aaron would collect their possessions, and on occasion he would find a few artifacts and tools that he could use. He found books, magical items, weapons, as well as very basic tools that he kept. In his eyes it was best to not leave anything behind; Aaron kept trunks and shelves full of the items. The ones that he was most proud of he kept on a shelf as trophies.

 _…_

The older woman started telling the kids what she knew. "My Alakazam was gathering some berries for one of my famous pies when one of those portals opened and sucked it inside. Vortex of course was there to go in after it. My Alakazam found itself in some sort of void with its psychic powers severely weakened. Vortex found him and helped it escape the dimension. My Alakazam tried reading his mind, but in his weakened state he only got fragments and pieces. The boy was once a trainer on a journey when he was sucked in to one of these portals. He escaped somehow, but the void seemed to change him some way."

"Yeah, it made him really mean." Max said.

"Young man, that is not his fault. He did not ask to be sucked in to that void and have his whole life changed. Now, let me continue. He made a choice of some sort to regulate the actions of these portals opening. From what you have seen, he seeks to prevent evil from escaping those portals, and to prevent others from having to suffer the same fate as him. He has been seen across the world. He goes wherever the portals are."

"So he's like some sort of hero?" May asked.

"Something like that, yes." The woman said.

"Do you know anything else?" Brock asked.

"Well, after my Alakazam told me what he saw I did some of my own research and came across the legends of the Sinnoh region. Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina constantly fought each other when their worlds came in to contact. This created rifts in time and space opening these portals. Legend has it that their constant fighting inadvertently created a world that encompasses all of their powers. I assume that Vortex found himself in this world. Those who escape are usually so corrupted by the world that they find themselves insane. It's a wonder that Vortex came out the way he did." The woman explained.

"You said that he used to be from this world. Maybe we can help him get back to normal." Ash said standing up.

"I think that it's too late for that." The woman sighed. "Although if you wish to try, rumors have it that his hideout is north of the city."

"Let's go see if we can find him." Ash said running outside.

"Thank you for everything." Brock said shaking the woman's hand and going to chase after Ash while the others thanked the woman as well and left.

Brock grabbed Ash by the arm. "We can't go after him now. It's getting dark out. We'll rest tonight and go look for him tomorrow." Brock said as the voice of reason. Ash reluctantly agreed as they all went to the Pokémon center to get a room for the night.

Team Rocket had been listening to their conversation and following the group closely in the forest. "I bet Giovanni would be happy to have that boy's knowledge." James said.

"And those jewels. Team Rocket would be the classiest evil doers in the world." Meowth said smiling as he envisioned Giovanni wearing a crown and holding a scepter while the team stood at his side also covered in medieval apparel.

"You two are missing the big picture." Jessie said hitting them on the head. "If we can get in to that world we could rule it and be royalty. Why limit Team Rocket to Earth when there are worlds for us to take?" Jessie asked rhetorically as they began scheming.

Sadly for Team Rocket, several other groups had already had that idea and made significant progress. They had made several attempts at finding the portals themselves, and some even tried forcing them open with advanced technologies unknown to many. Others had made attempts at synthesizing capture crystals, but they typically broke, cracked, and/or chipped when used. These groups paid close attention to Aaron monitoring everything that he did as they tried to find answers on entering the dimension. Team Aqua sought to create a world of water, Team Magma sought to create an expansive land mass in the void, Team Galactic saw it as a way to harness the powers of the Sinnoh legendaries, and Team Plasma sought to create a new kingdom in which they would create their idea of utopia between man and Pokémon.

 _At one of Team Plasma's secret labs…_

"Sir we almost have the portal open." A scientist said as a small portal opened and then quickly closed.

The man scowled. "How are the crystals coming along?"

"They only chip now." The scientist said behind a nervous smile.

"Your results are pathetic and a waste of time. That is why I have taken the liberty of assembling a team to scout out Vortex's hideout and find anything that can help us. As we speak, they are currently in a helicopter on their way to the Hoenn region. If their mission is a success, I will be expecting results from you." The man said coldly before walking off.


	3. Team Plasma Gets an Advantage

Ash and his friends woke up and got ready for the day. "We're going to see if we can find Vortex today. Right?" Brock asked as he put his backpack on.

"Yeah." Ash said making a fist followed by an enthusiastic cry from his Pikachu. "Let's get going." He said running out of the Pokémon center with his friends following closely behind.

At the same time, three members of Team Plasma had already arrived outside of the cavern that Aaron lived in. One of them found the secret switch and watched as the wall slid open. "Be careful what you touch. We don't need this kid finding out we were here." One of them said. They began going through all of Aaron's things taking pictures and scanning everything in sight. "We have more than enough data on the capture crystals as well as the magic that he uses." One of them said looking at a data pad. "Let's get moving now." He said as they all ran out of the cave, but not before grabbing a few of the capture crystals lying around and taking one of the spell books.

They managed to leave right before Ash and his friends arrived. They started looking around the cave hoping to find Aaron's hidden cavern, but they had no luck. "Maybe he'll come back if we just wait." Max suggested.

"Okay then. Let's hide." Brock said pointing to a large boulder which they all walked behind. It wasn't long before they heard footsteps approach the cavern. They peeked from behind the rock and watched as Aaron touched a panel on the cave wall causing the rock wall to slide open where Aaron disappeared inside.

"Let's go after him." Ash said running out from behind the rock.

"Wait up Ash." May said running after him. Ash fumbled around hitting the wall until it slid open for him. Ash was greeted with a gust of wind blowing him back.

"You're the thieves who broke in to my hideout." Aaron said readying his staff and calling out his Lucario. "Aura sphere." Aaron commanded as his Lucario started attacking.

"We're not the ones who broke in to your hideout. Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash called out as the Lucario was struck down by the attack.

"Lucario, return." Aaron said holding out his glove as the Lucario was absorbed by it.

"Why did you believe us like that?" Brock asked in confusion.

"I can tell when someone is lying. Being trapped in a void gives you a lot of time to learn and think about everything. I'm sorry for attacking you like that. I haven't been in the best mindset lately. Please come with me." Aaron said motioning for them to follow.

Once they were all inside the hideout, they gasped at the shelves full of weapons, armor, trinkets, and various magical items that Aaron had collected. May looked at Aaron. "So who are you really, Vortex?" May asked the hooded figure.

"Give me a minute. I need to check the time flower." Aaron said walking over to a small rock like flower in the corner. He held up the glove containing his Lucario and channeled his aura in to it. The flower started projecting Team Plasma wandering around the hideout and taking several items. "Team Plasma, who knows what they'll do with that stuff." Aaron sighed as the flower closed. "Capture crystals and a spell book. They're going to open a portal. I won't be able to find them until it's actually opened." Aaron sighed as he turned around to face the four kids.

"Capture crystals?" Ash asked curiously.

"They function as the pokeballs of the Lost Plane. A trainer can keep their Pokémon in them and use their power without actually having to call out their Pokémon. That spell book has a few spells on how to open a portal to the Lost Plane." Aaron explained.

"Lost Plane?" Max asked.

"It's a dimension created by the legendaries of Sinnoh, Palkia, Giratina, and Dialga. It's existence and nonexistence at the same time. It's pure chaos where time comes to a standstill where nothing grows or dies, no one grows hungry or thirsty. A Pokémon battle using capture crystals essentially is like a life or death battle. When all Pokémon are exhausted the trainer as well as their capture crystals vanish like you saw with that snake woman." Aaron explained. "Oh, and I already know why you're here. I'm not going to be your friend and I'm not going to be normal again." Aaron said turning away from them.

"Do you at least want to tell us who you are?" Brock asked taking a seat in a chair.

"Fine." Aaron said pulling down his hood revealing his snow white hair and purple eyes. They all looked at the eleven year old boy who had a cold empty look on his face. "I used to be a trainer. I was heading for my eighth gym badge, and then everything happened. While I was walking a portal opened and I was sucked in to the Lost Plane. That void gave off a strange energy that was infused in to me and my Sandslash." Aaron explained briefly then calling his Sandslash out. They all gasped at the white and purple Sandslash. "We're linked together by that void. We can see when and where the portals open. I met my team in that void. After I found my way out, I made a vow to prevent others from suffering the same fate as me and to protect them from people who use the void for evil."

"It sounds like a noble cause." Brock said putting a hand on his chin.

Aaron and his Sandslash and cringed when they saw the purple lightning flash in front of them. He recalled his Sandslash. "I need you guys to leave. A portal opened in Kanto, and I have to go take care of it." Aaron said pulling his hood up and grabbing his staff before teleporting away. The group of trainers left while Aaron went to go close another portal.

 _Meanwhile in Team Plasma's secret lab…_

"Sir we have the formula and can start synthesizing the crystals in a few hours." A scientist told his superior.

"And the portal?" He asked.

"We just need to have the environment set up. If it's not set up correctly we could destroy this facility and severely damage the fabric of time and space." The scientist explained.

"Just get it done. The longer we wait the longer it will take to build Team Plasma's new kingdom." The man said before walking off.


	4. A Portal Performance

Aaron was standing in the Viridian Forest in the Kanto region where a portal had just opened. From it emerged a Glalie and a Sneasal followed by a blast of fire that made them panic. A Magmar emerged from the portal followed by a woman with long red hair and a red leather bodysuit. Aaron stood in front of the two Pokémon ready to protect them. "Back off kid. These Pokémon are my catch."

"If you want them, you'll have to go through me." Aaron said calling out his Sandslash.

"Sure, I could use a good battle, and then I can collect my prize." She said smiling maliciously. "Magmar, flamethrower!"

"Sandslash, dig!" Aaron countered as the Pokémon burrowed underground. The ground glowed purple briefly before Aaron's Sandslash emerged and knocked the Magmar on to its back. "While it's down finish it with void lightning." Aaron called out as his Pokémon blasted the Magmar with purple lightning causing it to faint. Aaron watched as it and the trainer both vanished; he recalled his Sandslash and closed the portal and walked over to the two Pokémon. "You're safe now. Let me take you to a safe place." Aaron said as he put a hand on each of them and teleported to the outskirts of Snowpoint City in the Sinnoh region. Aaron was ready to teleport away, but the Pokémon ran back up to him. Aaron smiled and looked at the two of them. "Do you guys want to come with me?" Aaron asked holding up two capture crystals. They both nodded their heads as Aaron absorbed them in to the crystals. Aaron teleported back to his hideout and stowed the crystals in an antique puzzle box that he found in an old temple.

 _At the same time…_

Everyone was watching and helping May practice for her contest. "You're doing great May." Ash said smiling as his Pikachu let out a cry signaling his agreement.

"Thanks Ash." May said smiling at him as she continued practicing. "Squirtle, use ice beam on those bubbles, and Combusken, use flamethrower." May said smiling as the bubbles all froze and then glowed red briefly before shattering and showering may in the icy dust.

"Incredible." Brock said watching the dust fall as he clapped his hands. May continued practicing until it started to get dark. She and the others went to bed wanting to be well rested for her contest tomorrow.

 _Meanwhile in Team Plasma's secret lab…_

"Sir the crystals are ready, and we have successfully integrated them in to the weapons." One of the scientists said as he handed a man with a well groomed facial hair and blue spiked hair what appeared to be a rifle of some sort.

He examined the gun which held an artificial capture crystal containing a Galvantula. He started firing off the rifle shooting out several electrically charged pulses of energy that blasted a hole in the wall. He handed the gun back to the scientist. "Excellent work. What about the portal?"

"We're having a bit of trouble with the environment. We need a little more time to add in the cloaking mechanism, so that Vortex won't be able to find us." He explained.

"How much more time?" He asked stroking his chin.

"Three more days sir." The scientist said.

"Very well then. Also make sure to have enough blasters and crystals made, so that we can take the void with ease." He said walking away.

"Yes sir." All of the scientists said as they started working vigorously on the task at hand.

 _…_

The next day came quickly for May who was very excited as she started getting ready for her contest. She ran to the contest hall while Ash and the others were trying to keep up with her. "May wait up." Ash said running after her.

"Sorry guys, I'm just so excited." May said as she ran to the front desk to check in. After she was checked in she walked over to her friends. "I have to go get ready, so make sure that you guys get good seats to watch." May said smiling at them as she ran to her dressing room to get ready.

"Well, let's go find our seats." Brock said as the group walked off.

 _…_

Aaron was sitting in his hideout when he cringed seeing the purple lightning again. "Contest hall, delayed opening. Those things are so unpredictable and take the whole day. At least I'll have a little entertainment while I wait." Aaron said to himself as he teleported to the contest hall. He found a seat on one of the beams over the stage and called out his Pokémon to watch with him while they waited for the portal to open; his legs dangled over the beam as he looked down watching the contest get ready to start.

The lights in the stadium grew dim as smoke filled the stage and the announcer appeared on the stage. "Thank you for joining us today for this wonderful contest. The winner shall receive this ribbon." He said holding up a silver ribbon in his hand. "Without further ado, let's start the contest."

Aaron sat from the beam watching the contest and smiled a little bit as he watched the performers and their Pokémon work flawlessly together. Aaron continued watching until he saw May start her performance. "It's that girl from yesterday." Aaron thought to himself as he focused on her performance. Aaron watched as she froze a bubblebeam attack and made the orbs glow briefly before shattering them and making an icy dust rain from the ceiling and sparkle.

Aaron watched intently until he saw a portal start to open near her. He jumped from the beam and landed gracefully as he reached in to his bag and pulled out the device that allowed him to close the portals. The crowd all gasped when they saw Aaron on the stage. "Get off the stage. You're interrupting my performance." May said glaring at him.

"I'm just trying to do my job, but let me fix it." Aaron said calling out his Xatu. "Xatu use gust. May have your Combusken use flamethrower on the gust followed by an ice beam from your Squirtle. Trust me." Aaron said looking at her.

May did as she was told and watched at first how the silver gust now had a ring of orange fire. "That's really cool. Squirtle, use ice beam!" May called out as the gust was now silver, blue, and orange.

"Now for the finale. Xatu, Psychic." Aaron instructed as the Pokémon levitated May over the gust and submerged her over it. Aaron pointed his staff at the gust and blasted it with purple lightning causing it to erupt in a shimmering light that bathed May causing the crowd to cheer loudly. Before May could look for Aaron, he vanished.

May won her contest thanks to the help of Aaron, and walked to his hideout with the ribbon in her hand. "Vortex, are you here?" May asked as the secret door slid open.

"What do you want?" Aaron asked walking over with his hood down.

"I just wanted to thank you for what you did at the contest." May said smiling.

"I only did it to apologize for interrupting your performance." Aaron told her turning away.

"Well it meant a lot to me, and I want you to know that." May said giving him a hug from behind and leaving. Aaron blushed a little bit feeling the comfort of another person, but quickly shrugged it off knowing that he gave up friends after he escaped the void in order to prevent any distractions from his true purpose.

Aaron went to bed having completed his mission for the day. Somewhere in the middle of the night he cringed seeing the purple lightning. He got up and went to close the portal only for another to open that he had to go close. Aaron returned to his hideout and cringed again, but this time there wasn't lightning; it was a white light. "That can't be good." Aaron thought to himself as he fell asleep again. He woke up a few more times in the night with the white light flashing before him.

 _At Team Plasma's Secret Lab…_

"Excellent, the portal is almost ready. Soon Team Plasma shall be the ruler of the Lost Plane." A boy with long green hair chuckled.


	5. Taking Down the King Pt 1

N stood on a stage with the elites of Team Plasma by his side. They were in a very large hangar standing in front of the members of Team Plasma who were all wearing futuristic white and black body suits with electric blue outlines and the Team Plasma emblem on the chest. They also wore shock trooper helmets with tinted visors. Each of them was holding a blaster rifle with a capture crystal containing their Pokémon embedded inside of it.

N walked over to the podium where he stood in front of several vertical banners displaying the emblem of Team Plasma. N was wearing one of the bodysuits, but his was electric blue and black, with gold outlines. He also was not wearing a helmet. "Team Plasma, today is the day we conquer the Lost Plane. We shall claim the dimension in the name of Team Plasma!" He proclaimed earning several cheers from the soldiers. "We shall build our new kingdom in a place where time does not exist. We will establish a new order and bring about a new utopia between man and Pokémon." The soldiers cheered once more. "I will now open the gates." N said pushing a button on the podium where large portals opened up in front of the soldiers.

The soldiers as well as several trucks containing materials and supplies entered through the portals. A kingdom that would have taken decades to build on earth was seemingly built instantly. The kingdom was very advanced; the scientists had even started tapping in to the large vortex as a renewable source of energy that they were using to power their kingdom.

Aaron woke up sweating and clutching his chest. He was in a great deal of pain and kept having flashes of purple lightning in his eyes. "Something is wrong. A portal's opening in Lilycove City. Maybe I can get some answers." Aaron said to himself as he got dressed almost passing out from fatigue while he did so. He grabbed his staff and teleported to Lilycove City; he fell on to his knee once he got there. He managed to stand himself up as he walked to the portal that had just started opening.

A man with a sword walked out of the portal; he was covered in cuts, bruises, and burns. "What happened?" Aaron asked running over to his side.

"There were these guys wearing these futuristic suits. They attacked me." He said breathing heavily. "I don't think I'm going to make it." He said moving the hand from his side to reveal a large gash.

"What else can you tell me?" Aaron asked kneeling by his side.

"They claim to be adding order to that void. They built some sort of kingdom in it. They call themselves Team Plasma…" He was about to continue speaking, but he vanished.

Aaron sighed as he closed the portal. "They succeeded. I'm going to have to go after them." Aaron thought to himself as he teleported back to his hideout. "They're probably the reason for the flashes of white light, and why I couldn't see the portals opening."

Aaron started dragging the tip of his staff on the ground drawing the runic circle that he had first used to escape the Lost Plane. Aaron opened the portal and jumped through it. He landed on a large rock formation. He saw the large vortex giving off bursts of the purple lightning. In the distance, he could see a large wall structure with several large buildings inside it including a large castle that was surrounded by men in futuristic bodysuits armed with blaster rifles.

Aaron stealthily approached the kingdom and knocked out any guards that saw him. Aaron examined one of their rifles and noticed the unusual capture crystals embedded in to them. "In this place, they can enter the future in minutes." Aaron thought to himself as he leapt from roof to roof of several buildings. Sadly for him though, they spotted him and started firing their rifles at him. Aaron was knocked off of the roof by one of the blasts where two guards grabbed him by the arms and carried him in to the castle.

He was led down the elaborate halls until they stopped in a throne room where N was reclining in a throne. "Hello there, Vortex. Do you like what I've done with the place?" N asked smiling as he jumped from his throne and walked over to Aaron. "I've been looking forward to meeting you, the guardian of the Lost Plane. Remove his hood. I want to see his face before I banish him permanently from here." N said as one of the soldiers removed Aaron's hood revealing his snow white hair and purple eyes that met directly with N's.

Aaron kicked one of the guards in the side who let go of Aaron while he punched the other guard knocking him to the ground. Aaron grabbed his staff and swung at N knocking him back. Several soldiers rushed in to the room firing at Aaron who was running from the castle trying to find a safe place to draw the circle to take him back home. He was injured from the barrage of blasters, but continued moving until he found himself on a rock formation that was safe enough for him to open a portal on. Aaron opened the portal and quickly leapt through it as he found himself in his hideout. He collapsed on to the floor exhausted from forcing the portal open and from the injuries of his encounter with Team Plasma. When Aaron woke up, he used his staff for support as he made his way to Rustboro City. If he was going to stop Team Plasma, he would need a plan and some help.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash called out as his Pikachu shocked an Azumarill causing it to faint. "Yeah, another win." Ash said smiling at his partner.

"Hey, look, it's Vortex." Max said pointing to the hooded figure slowly walking towards them.

When Aaron got to them, he collapsed in front of them. "Are you all right?" Brock asked helping him up.

"I'm fine." Aaron said sitting on a bench with all of them crowding around them.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked.

"I need your help. Team Plasma has taken the Lost Plane, and I need help to take them down." Aaron said breathing heavily.

"And you want us to help?" May asked. Aaron nodded his head.

"I'm in." Ash said smiling at Aaron and giving him a thumbs up.

"I'm in." Brock said smiling.

"Me too." May said.

"So am I." Max said.

"Great let's get back to my hideout, so that I can explain everything." Aaron said as they started walking back to his hideout. When they got there, Aaron walked behind a curtain and rummaged through a trunk containing several vials. Aaron pulled out one containing a red liquid that he swallowed; his injuries immediately started healing after he drank it, and some of them even healed completely. "I'll have to get more potion ingredients at some point." Aaron thought to himself as he set the vial with several other empty ones. Aaron walked from behind the curtain feeling much better as he approached the group.

"How did you get better so quickly?" Brock asked.

"Potion." Aaron responded. "I don't have that much of it, but I needed it." He explained. "I need you guys to put all of your pokeballs on the table." The kids did as instructed as Aaron pulled out his spell book. "The Lost Plane can warp your pokeballs and render them useless. I'm going to cast a spell on them to protect them from the effects of the Lost Plane. That way you don't have to risk your lives using capture crystals." Aaron explained as he opened the book and said a few words as he waved his hand over the pokeballs which glowed briefly before their trainers picked them up. "Okay, come with me now." Aaron said as he escorted them in to what he called his armory. "You guys might want to ditch the trainer clothes for a little bit. You don't want to stick out too much." Aaron walked out of the room while they started going through the available outfits.

"Vortex sure has done some collecting." Brock said as he began going through one of the chests full of clothes.

Brock was the first to walk out of the armory wearing a pair of blue pants, a pair of black boots, and a brown vest exposing his chest as he had no shirt on underneath. Max came out next wearing a dark green tunic along with a small pouch by his side. Ash came out next; he wore a silver colored chainmail vest over his black t-shirt. He also wore black pants and a pair of brown boots and a pair of brown gloves. May was the last to come out; she wore a short white dress along with a silver necklace with a purple crystal pendant and her bandanna functioned as a bow in her hair.

"A little formal for a battle." Aaron said looking at her.

"Sorry, but I couldn't help myself." May said twirling in the dress.

"Fine, but all of you need these." Aaron said handing each of them a silver ring. "These protect you from the Lost Plane's energy. I don't think that you guys want white hair and purple eyes. Hearing that, they all put the rings on. "Come with me now." Aaron said walking in to another room of the cavern where a large runic circle was drawn in the ground.

"There's no turning back now. Are you guys ready?" Aaron asked them who all nodded their heads. "Grab my staff." They each put a hand around the shaft of the staff as Aaron began speaking.


	6. Taking Down the King Pt 2

**Just so you guys know, I'm always accepting OC suggestions for all of my stories. If you have an OC that you want to see in one of my stories, please message me so that we can talk about it. I love to hear from my readers and putting some of their characters in my stories is the least that I can do to thank you guys. Thanks for reading -TranscodeNightCat**

 _To travel between worlds across time and space, I shatter the barriers and create a rift in time and space to build a bridge linking the worlds together._

Once the portal opened the group was magically transported through it. They landed in the cave that Aaron escaped from where he collapsed due to exhaustion of transporting himself as well as four other people.

"Vortex, are you okay?" Brock asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. I just need to rest for a little bit. It's not easy to transport that many people through the void." Aaron told him as Brock leaned him against a wall.

"Once you rest, we'll start moving." Ash said excitedly.

"While I rest, you might want to read the history on the walls." Aaron said pointing around the room before closing his eyes.

May was the first to finish reading and started poking around the cavern until she tripped on something sticking out of the ground. May stood up and picked up the object and dusted it off; it was a badge case with a trainer id card inside of it. May picked up the card and looked at it. "These are Aaron's badges, but who's Aaron?" May looked over at the boy with snow white hair and held up the card. "Vortex is Aaron." May realized putting the badge case and trainer card back where she found it. She walked over to where he was leaning. "Hi, Aaron." She said sitting next to him.

"You found my badge case?" He asked. May nodded her head.

"So why Vortex?" She asked.

"It wasn't my choice. It's just what people started calling me. I don't really like the name, but I live with it." Aaron explained.

"Well, I'll call you Aaron." She said smiling as the others finished reading and walked over to them.

Aaron stood up and pulled down his hood to look each of them in the eye. "Team Plasma is not going to be friendly. They are armed and dangerous. This whole place is dangerous that is why it's crucial to share a strong bond with your Pokémon. There is a chance that one or more of us will not survive. Our goal is to stop them from using this place for their evil purposes. When I infiltrated their main castle, I could see plans for capturing several legendary Pokémon. I don't know what they would do with them, but I do know that it would be incredibly dangerous whatever it is."

"We won't let them hurt any Pokémon." Ash said making a fist.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Brock said calling out his Onix. May called out her Combusken and her Squirtle before Aaron started walking with them to the cavern's exit.

"That's it." Aaron said pointing to the large white castle in the distance. "It's heavily guarded, so get ready to fight." Aaron told them as he started jumping from rock formation to rock formation.

"Wait up." Ash said jumping from the rocks as well while the others followed.

They all ducked behind a boulder looking at the guards at the main gate. "Pikachu, let's take them down." Ash smiled as he ran out from behind the boulder giving away their location.

"Ash, you can't just run in without a strategy." Aaron told him as he grabbed his staff shooting blasts of purple lightning while the guards repeatedly fired their blasters at them.

"Strategy just doesn't work for me." Ash said as his Pikachu started attacking the guards. Aaron took a hit from one of the blasters falling on to his knee. "Aaron, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Aaron said standing up and blasting the guards with purple lightning and rendering them unconscious. "Let's keep moving before more of them show up." Aaron said as the others followed him in to the castle. They entered the castle which appeared to be built on one of the lower, larger rock formations. They walked through the castle halls knocking out every guard that they saw; sadly they forgot to notice the security cameras watching them.

When they got to the throne room, N was not there. In his place was a screen with his face on it. "So Vortex has friends. Amusing." He chuckled.

"His name is Aaron." May said trying to stand up for him.

This just made N laugh more. "I don't really care. Either way you've fallen in to a trap." N said snapping his fingers and several guards surrounded them. "And to make it more interesting." He snapped his fingers once more as part of the floor opened up revealing the abyss of the Lost Plane below. "I don't really know where this goes or how long you'll fall, but it will certainly be fun to watch." N said smiling as the screen vanished.

The guards started firing at them while the trainers and their Pokémon attacked back. "Onix, rock tomb!" Brock shouted which caused several boulders to fall on to the guards who vanished from the force of the boulders.

"Combusken, flamethrower. Squirtle, use ice beam." May called out as the Pokémon fired off their attacks simultaneously creating a combination that devastated several of the guards. Aaron was using the power of his Xatu as he blew the guards back, levitated them in to the air, and disarmed them. Ash and his Pikachu were working side by side as his Pikachu fired off repeated thunderbolts.

Sadly, no matter how many guards they took out, more seemed to constantly show up. "We need to get out of here. We'll die in here." Aaron said pointing to the exit while the others nodded their heads. Aaron followed behind them making sure that they got out okay, but while running to the exit he was shot in the back and fell clutching the edge of the floor.

"Aaron!" May called out running over to him.

"Just get out of here." Aaron said glaring at her. Several shots were fired over her head. "Go now! It's too dangerous."

"No I won't go." May said trying to grab Aaron's arm and pull him up. Aaron saw the cracks in the floor growing and used his glove to blow May back as the floor broke and Aaron began to fall in to the empty void. "Aaron!" May called out as Brock grabbed her arm and started running with her until they were back in the cavern.

They all caught their breath, sitting on the floor of the cavern. "He's gone." May said with tears forming in her eyes.

"We can't do anything about it now. The best we can do is try to find a way out of here." Brock said rubbing his chin.

"No way. We're going to stop Team Plasma and save those Pokémon. For Aaron." Ash said making a fist.

"For Aaron." May said standing up, wiping a few tears from her eyes, and also making a fist. Max did the same.

"Fine, for Aaron." Brock said smiling.

May walked over to the badge case and picked it up; she held it close to her chest. "Don't worry Aaron. We'll stop them for you, and I'll find a way to bring you back." May said to herself as she sat the badge case on the ground and walked back over to the group who was already making a strategy.

 _At the same time…_

A boy dressed as a knight of some sort approached the castle. His helmet was a metallic dark gray color that consisted of a very small rectangular slit for the eyes that provided visibility, but kept them concealed while it exposed the lower portion of his face. He wore an armor of the same color that appeared to be fairly light as it seemed to be very thin and conform to his body; the shoulder plates were arched on the edges adding an elite atmosphere of some sort to his outfit. He wore black biker-like gloves on his hands; the left housed a light blue capture crystal. He also wore black boots. By his side was a hilt containing a sword with a black handle embedded with a slightly darkened light blue capture crystal; the blade was polished and incredibly sharp.

He walked to the front of the castle where the guards immediately readied their blasters. The knight sat his sword down and put his hands up signaling that he came in peace. One of the guards picked up the sword while the other one put the muzzle in his back while they led him in to the castle. They get to the throne room where N stares at the knight. "What can I do for you?" N asked smiling.

"I've come to offer my services." The knight said bowing.

"What do you want in return?" N asked examining him.

"A place in your grand new kingdom." The knight responded.

"Very well, but first you must prove yourself in battle. Give him his sword." N said as the guard handed him the blade.

"Fine with me." The knight readied his sword as several guards walked in to the room. The guards started firing off their blasters at him. He blocked each attack with his sword which seemed to glow. He then struck several of the guards down; he also shot several beams of ice from his glove trapping the guards while he mutilated them. He then looked at N. "Satisfied?" He asked with a sadistic smile.

"Very. Welcome aboard. I guess I'll have to refer to you as the ice knight." N said smiling as the knight stowed his sword.


	7. Taking Down the King Pt 3

**If you guys get a chance, please take the time to leave a review and/or check out some of my other stories. -TranscodeNightCat**

The knight followed N down the halls of the castle. "So how did you find your way in to this place?" N asked.

"I fell in to an open portal. After several tries to break out, I embraced the chaos and became a knight." He explained.

"And why did you set your weapon down?" N asked.

"You were neither friend nor foe. I had no reason to attack. I was also curious about this new castle that seemed to appear." He explained.

"You're a smart boy. I like that." N said as he opened the door to what appeared to be a laboratory. On a table were three half-sphere crystals; N picked one up. "Do you know what these are?"

"Capture crystals." The knight said examining it.

"But they are so much more. These are the master crystals." He said while the knight just stared at him. N began explaining the concept. "My scientists have taken the capture crystals that you know and created one of perfection that can capture any Pokémon. Once the Pokémon is captured, the crystals typically change shape to accommodate their powers."

"What's the plan with them?" The knight asked setting it down.

"I plan to capture Reshiram and Zekrom, and it shouldn't be too hard since in this plane I have an infinite amount of time to track them and open a portal to their exact location." N said smiling. "With them, I shall rule all of Unova, and then the world."

"That's not going to happen on our watch." A voice said as the door burst open revealing Ash, Brock, May, and Max.

"Oh, children. Knight, can you deal with them? I have some preparations to make." N said teleporting away.

"With pleasure." The knight said holding up his sword. "Emerge, Weavile." He commanded as the creature emerged from the blade. "Shadow ball." He called out as it blasted the trainers with a ball of dark energy.

"Combusken, flamethrower." May called out.

"Dodge it, and then use slash." The knight countered with incredible agility and speed as the Combusken was knocked to the ground. "Glalie, ice beam!" The knight shouted holding up his glove and the Pokémon emerged blasting the trainers.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash yelled while his Pikachu leapt up high unleashing a bolt of lightning on the Weavile.

"Get up! Now use shadow ball once more. Glalie help out Weavile with a blizzard." The knight ordered his Pokémon as it whipped up a snow storm that rendered the other Pokémon vulnerable to the shadow ball attacks.

"Retreat!" Brock shouted as they recalled their Pokémon and ran from the castle.

"They were smart to run." N said reappearing. "I shall reward you for your efforts that would have taken at least ten guards." He handed the knight a master crystal. "I also have a Pokémon lined up for you to catch." N said smiling with his own thoughts.

 _Little does he know that the crystals are untested, and he will be the guinea pig for this. I'll have him capture a legendary Pokémon, and if it's successful then I'll go capture Zekrom and Reshiram, and set my real plan in to action._

"Thank you." The knight said stowing the crystal.

"Oh it's no problem at all. You deserve it." N responded. "Now please come with me. I have your Pokémon waiting for you."

 _Meanwhile…_

Ash and the others regrouped at the cavern. "That knight was really strong." Ash said breathing heavily.

"I wish we had Aaron. He could have taken him down." Max sighed.

"We all miss him, but we have to do this on our own." Brock also sighed.

May stood up and looked at them. "We're going to stop N and make Aaron proud. We'll train as hard as we can and get stronger. Then we'll take N and that knight down and find Aaron."

"Let's do it." Ash said as the others all nodded their heads in agreement.

"I know you're still alive, somewhere. Please be okay, Aaron." May thought to herself clenching her hands together with her eyes closed.

"Are you okay?" Brock asked.

"I'm fine. Let's go." May said regaining her composure. "We'll find you Aaron, whatever it takes."

N stood with the knight in his lab; N held the remote for a portal generator in his hand. "Knight, Arcticuno is known to land on icy mountain tops, and our research shows that is will be on the one that I'm opening a portal to. I want you to capture it." N pushed a few buttons on the remote opening the portal. "Let's go and meet your destiny." The knight pulled the master crystal from his pocket and looked at it briefly in his hand. He nodded his head and walked through the portal while N smiled as he followed.

Little did they know that Ash and his friends had broken in to the lab once more and were watching from afar. "Should we follow them?" Ash asked.

"No, it could be dangerous. Let's just stay here and watch the portal." Brock told him.

The knight approached the peak of the mountain while N walked behind him. At the top, Arcticuno was perched on the tip of the mountain. It looked down on N and the knight who approached it. It shot an ice beam at them which made N jump back while the knight continued to approach. "Arcticuno, as a knight of the Lost Plane under the leadership of Lord N, I command you to accept your fate." Arcticuno screeched loudly as the knight held up the master crystal absorbing the Pokémon who was writhing in agony. The crystal's shape became a blue triangle with a web-like pattern in it. The crystal attached itself to the chest plate of the knight's armor causing the whole armor to glow briefly before the crystal settled in to place.

"Excellent work." N smiled at him.

"Did he just capture Arcticuno?" Ash asked rubbing his eyes.

"He did." Brock said.

"Let's go. We don't want to be here when they get back." Max said.

"Too late." N said smiling evilly as the portal closed. "Why don't you demonstrate your new power for me?"

The knight's chest glowed as he walked forward; the ground beneath his feet grew patches of ice as a vortex of frost and snow blasted the group. "Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash shouted as the knight was blasted with several volts of electricity. He fell on to his knee shaking from the electricity that was still coursing through his body.

"Combusken, use flamethrower." May ordered. The knight had no time to regain his composure as he was knocked on to his back.

"Get up and go after them!" N shouted as the trainers ran off leaving the knight lying on the ground.

The knight stood up glaring at N. "I'm sorry I was just dealing with several volts of electricity coursing through my body followed by a flamethrower attack." He said sarcastically.

"Whatever. We have something else to do now."

"What?" The knight asked still angry with N.

"Reshiram and Zekrom of course. They are my destiny, and I will catch them and rule the world with them. They are going to appear together over a small volcano in the Kanto region, and I'm going to catch them. Let's go." N said opening up another portal. The two stood on the edge of the volcano where sure enough the two Pokémon landed ready to clash. They were about to attack, but N flew over them using his jet pack and landed between them. "You two shall serve me. I am your new master!" He shouted holding up a master crystal to each of them. They were both absorbed in to the crystals where he integrated them on to his arms. The crystals remained like half spheres one black and one white where they rested on the top of his hands. The lights outlining his suit also changed. One half became the blue resembling the electricity emitted by Zekrom while the other reflected the fire emitted by Reshiram.

The portal returned them to the Lost Plane. N walked outside of the castle with the knight following closely behind to protect his master. "Reshiram and Zekrom, show me your immense power!" N commanded as he raised both of his hands to the sky creating a beacon of light that gave off an incredible energy. Ash and the others could see the light from the cavern and cringed seeing the incredible power emitted by the legendary Pokémon.

"We rest for now, but afterwards we shall take Unova." N said before walking off. The knight followed with the crystal in his chest plate glowing briefly.


	8. Taking Down the King Pt 4

**If you get a chance, please take the time to leave a review or read some of my other stories. Thanks.**

"Pikachu, thunderbolt one more time!" Ash ordered the Pokémon who smashed the rock in front of him with a powerful blast of electricity. "That was great. That knight won't stand a chance." Ash said hugging his partner. He and the others had been training nonstop preparing to battle the knight and then N who was currently preparing to open a portal to the Unova region. Brock and May called out their Pokémon who all had looks of fierce determination on their faces. "Are you guys ready?" The trainers asked each other and their Pokémon. The Pokémon all nodded their heads and let out fierce battle cries. "Let's go then." Ash said making a fist as he made his way to the cavern exit.

 _Later…_

The knight stood by N's side in the throne room while several scientists were moving around equipment and typing on computers. "Soon I shall rule Unova, and the world. With Reshiram and Zekrom by my side, I shall be unstoppable." N chuckled.

"Sir, we're almost ready." One of the scientists said pushing a few buttons that started generating the portal.

"And that's as close as you're going to get." Ash said running in to the room with his friends who all had burn marks and wounds from their encounters with the guards; their Pokémon followed behind glaring at their new foes.

"Arcticuno, come forth!" The knight instructed as the Pokémon emerged from the crystal; the blue web-like pattern spread across the knight's armor as he gave off an icy wind. "My quarrel is not with you trainers."

Brock glared at him. "It's a trick. Onix, use rock tomb."

"Arcticuno, freeze and shatter the boulders, then direct them at the consoles." The knight watched as the boulders broke up and began raining down on the computers and equipment.

"You traitorous thorn, I'll make you pay for this!" N shouted angrily glaring at him. "Reshiram, Zekrom, come forth and allow me to exact my vengeance!" The two legendary Pokémon emerged from their crystals and roared violently. "Destroy this so called knight." The two Pokémon attacked the knight slamming him up against a wall; debris covered the knight who slowly emerged coughing.

"How can I be a traitor when I was never on your side?" He asked removing the crystal from his chest plate and throwing it on the ground and then stomping on it causing it to shatter. "Arcticuno listened to me without the crystal. It could see my purpose which is to stop you. You should never trust just one person. It made you vulnerable and weak. Arcticuno, shatter his crystals!" The knight ordered as the Pokémon flew up high and dove down shattering the crystals with its powerful beak. Zekrom and Reshiram immediately stopped their rampage and teleported away once they had been freed from the crystals. "Arcticuno, you are free. Thank you for your service. I owe you my gratitude." The legendary bird also teleported away. The knight walked over to N drawing his sword and impaling him. "I owe you nothing." He watched as N dissipated in to light and vanished.

Ash and the others had been watching the whole time unsure of what to do. "Combusken, double kick!" May ordered.

"Pikachu, use iron tail and then thunderbolt!" Ash called out.

"Onix, use rock tomb." Brock told his Pokémon.

The knight had no time to react as he was bombarded with all of the attacks and thrown against a wall; his helmet was severely damaged, and the majority of his armor was torn, tattered, and scorched. He coughed from all of the debris and the pain in his chest area. The trainers walked over to the down knight. "You guys never really did get strategy." He chuckled a little and coughed.

"What's so funny?" Max asked glaring at him.

The knight smiled briefly before removing his helmet revealing his true identity. "Hey guys." The purple eyes belonging to Aaron looked up at them.

"Aaron! You're alive." May hugged him tightly not wanting to let go.

"You want to explain yourself." Max asked with his arms crossed while the others did the same.

"Easy, when I fell through the void, I teleported and then opened a portal back home. I changed my clothes and grabbed the Pokemon I keep on reserve knowing that you guys haven't seen them. I befriended N earning his trust and was waiting until he was about to open the portal to stop him. I knew that I couldn't stop him from the outside." He explained.

"Why didn't you tell us? We could have helped. You had us all thinking that you were dead. We were really sad." May said letting go of him.

"I couldn't let you guys know. You would have held back and N would have known that something was up. Now, how about I take you guys home?" Aaron asked opening a portal in front of them. They all walked through it arriving back at Aaron's hideout where they changed in to their normal clothes. Aaron walked with them to the outside of his hideout. "I'm sorry that all of this happened."

"Why? It was awesome." Ash said smiling.

"It was exciting." Brock smiled briefly.

"Well I'm sorry that we couldn't spend a little more time together. I had fun working with you." Aaron said turning around to walk off.

"You don't have to leave." May told him grabbing his shoulder.

"Yeah, you can join us on our journey." Ash said smiling.

"I'm sorry, but I gave that stuff up. I have a role in this world." Aaron said walking off.

"Well the invitation is still there. Let's go to the Pokémon center guys. I could use some rest." Ash said smiling as the group walked to the Pokémon center to rest for the night.

Aaron watched them walk off before returning to his hideout and going through his things. "I gave all of that stuff up. I don't have time to go on a journey." Aaron sighed as he laid down on his bed smiling before going to sleep.

 _The next morning…_

Ash and his friends stood outside the Pokémon center. "You guys ready to go?" Ash asked putting his backpack over his shoulders.

"Yeah, let's move out." Brock said looking around briefly.

"You guys have room for one more?" A boy wearing brown boots, black jeans, and a black t-shirt along with a white backpack with a staff resting diagonally on the backpack asked the group.

"Yeah, sure." Ash said smiling as Aaron shook his hand and started walking with them. "Let's get moving."


	9. Continuing the Journey

**If you get a chance please take the time to fave, follow, and/ or write a review for this story. I have other stories that you may like as well so please check them out. Also, I'm looking for OCs to appear in my stories, so if you want to recommend one, please message me so that we can talk about their possible appearance.**

"So Aaron, any plans for while you're with us?" Brock asked.

"No, I'm just coming along for the ride." Aaron responded.

"Well, we're glad that you are." Ash said smiling. "Maybe we can train together."

"Or you can help me with my contests." May chimed in.

"Maybe." Aaron said.

"The ferry to Dewford Town is a little while away. Why don't we break for lunch soon? There's a clearing just up ahead." Brock said changing the subject. The others all agreed as they continued walking until they made it to the clearing that Brock had mentioned. Brock started cooking while the others set up the table; Aaron sat on top of a large boulder reading from his spell book until he heard Brock call out that lunch was ready. He jumped down from the boulder and grabbed his plate before returning to the boulder to eat. Aaron shared most of the food with his Pokémon before recalling them and then eating his portion of the food.

"He's not very social." Ash said looking at the boulder.

"Just give him some time. He'll come around eventually." Brock told him.

"I'm going to go check on him." May said standing up and climbing up the boulder. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Are we ready to get moving?" Aaron asked looking up from his book.

"No, I was just wondering if you wanted to talk." May said smiling.

"Not really." Aaron said jumping from the boulder and climbing up a tree to get some privacy. May sighed as she made her way back to the table.

"Anything?" Brock asked. May shook her head glimpsing at the tree where Aaron continued to read his spell book. After lunch, the group made their way to the ferry to Dewford Town. Ash was excited to go challenge Brawley and earn his second gym badge.

"Are you going to come with us Aaron?" May asked.

"I'll catch up with you guys. I'm going to check out the dojo." Aaron said walking away. May sighed and ran off to go catch up with Ash and the others.

Aaron walked to the dojo where two boys wearing black gis with yellow outlines stopped him. "Only members are allowed." One of them said as they both readied their fists.

"I'm not in the mood for a fight, but if you want to then I will." Aaron said pulling out his staff and twirling it. The two boys quickly picked up their own staffs and ran at Aaron who blocked their attacks.

They continued fighting with Aaron clearly winning until a girl wearing a similar gi yelled at them to stop. "Go inside you two, now." She said sternly. The two boys quickly ran off as she walked over to Aaron. The girl had blonde hair that was in a pony tail and blue eyes. "I haven't seen you around here before. Where'd you do your training?" She asked examining the boy holding an unusual staff.

"I trained myself." He said putting the staff away.

"Well you're pretty good. Maybe you should compete in the tournament we're having tomorrow. I bet you'll do great." She said flirting with Aaron.

"I'll be there and I'll win." He told her.

"Don't count on it. We have some pretty strong competitors lined up." She told him. "If you want I could train you a little bit." She said smiling.

"No thanks. I train alone." Aaron said walking away to go find Ash and the others. Aaron walked to the gym to see Ash battling Brawley Ash's Pokémon defeating the Machop in front of it and winning. Brawley handed Ash his badge as Aaron walked over to the group. "Ash won, surprising since he has no sense of strategy." Aaron said looking at him.

Brock started explaining to him. "That is his strategy. He thinks on his feet and comes up with a plan on the spot."

"Sounds like he just got lucky." Aaron muttered under his breath.

"At times, yes." Brock said. "So what'd you do while you were gone?"

"I signed up for a martial arts tournament." Aaron told him.

"That sounds fun. We'll be sure to watch." Ash said running over.

"And we'll cheer you on." May said smiling at him. "Good job on your battle Ash. What do you want to do now?"

"Let's go look around town for a little bit before tomorrow." Ash said as they all left the gym to go look around the town. In the center of town they could see several of the students from the dojo setting up for tournament. "I guess this tournament's kind of a big deal." Ash said looking around where several bleachers were being set up.

"I need to go train a little bit." Aaron said walking away. Aaron walked to the coast of the island and pulled out his staff. He practiced several maneuvers as he jumped from rock to rock and swung his staff; he had taken off his shoes to simulate what the tournament would be like as they did not permit shoes. Aaron trained for hours practicing with his staff; his feet had cuts and he was covered in sweat.

May saw Aaron still training when the sun went down. She walked over to him and handed him a bottle of water. "Here, you should stay hydrated."

"Thanks." Aaron said drinking the whole bottle quickly.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" May asked.

"Yeah." Aaron said taking a deep breath and wiping some of the sweat from his forehead. "Let's go back to the Pokémon center. We'll both need our rest for tomorrow."

May nodded her head as she walked with Aaron to the Pokémon center. Aaron took a shower before going to bed for the night. He fell asleep quickly from all of the training that he went through which exhausted him greatly.


	10. Fighting Through the Tournament

**If you have the time please fave, follow, and/ or leave a review. Also, if you have the time please check out some of my other stories. Thanks for reading. -TranscodeNightCat**

Aaron woke up early and simply put on a pair of long black pants, his outfit for the tournament. He walked over to the wall where his staff was leaning and he picked it up; the others were still sleeping, so he tried to be careful as he snuck out of the Pokémon center to do some early morning training. He walked out of the center and watched as the purple lightning flashed in his eyes. Aaron reached in to his backpack and pulled out his gloves. He put them on and teleported to the mountain peak that was revealed to him. Aaron quickly closed the portal, but not before a ninja like figure emerged from it. "Grovyle, leaf blade!" He shouted as he touched the green crystal embedded in his chest.

"Lucario, blaze kick." Aaron commanded as he watched the Grovyle get knocked back by the attack, but not before he watched the ninja throw a kunai which grazed his side and caused Aaron a great deal of pain.

"Boy, I wish to cause you no harm as it is not in the way of a ninja. It is just that I have been lost in that portal for so long. I can not always tell who is out to harm me and who is not. Please forgive me for my rash actions."

"It's fine. Let me just get you back to your time." Aaron said focusing and opening a portal; he first recalled his Lucario while the ninja recalled his Grovyle. Aaron escorted the ninja through the portal making sure that he was in the right place; he clutched his side in pain the whole time as blood trickled from the open wound.

Aaron travelled back to his time and limped back to the Pokémon center where he saw Ash and the others already eating breakfast. "Aaron!" May exclaimed running over to him. "You're hurt. Nurse Joy!" May called out as the nurse quickly ran over with a Blissey by her side.

"Oh my, you're hurt. Please come with me." Nurse Joy said putting Aaron's arm over her shoulder for support. Aaron was brought in to one of the examination rooms where he was sat up on the table. Nurse joy rubbed some sort of paste on his wound which stung a lot. The Blissey handed her a roll of bandages which she started wrapping around Aaron's waist.

"Urghh…" Aaron groaned from the still sore wound and the stinging sensation provided by the medicine. "Will I be able to compete in the tournament today?"

"I know that I will not be able to stop you, but I would highly advise against it. You're going to be pretty sore for a while." Nurse Joy said helping Aaron off the table.

"Thanks." Aaron said grabbing his bag and walking off where Ash and the others caught up to him.

"So what did Nurse Joy say?" Brock asked curiously.

"I can compete if I want, but it won't be the smartest move." Aaron responded.

"Well you're not going to compete are you?" May asked looking at the bandaged wound.

"I'm going to try." Aaron said picking up his staff.

"Well, we'll still cheer you on." Ash said smiling and making a fist. The others all nodded their heads in agreement with Ash before they made their way to the town center where an arena was set up for the large martial arts tournament. Aaron could see several people all wearing black gis with yellow outlines sparring and practicing with their weapons of choice before the tournament would begin.

An older man wearing a red gi stood in front of the students and ordered them to line up. Aaron also fell in to the line. The sensei looked at him and eyed the staff before speaking to all of them. "You are all here to prove which of you are the best fighters. With your weapons you will fight until one is unable to continue fighting. You will fight with honor and respect like a true warrior." He then turned to the crowd. "We shall now commence the tournament. First up Aaron versus Jake." The crowd cheered while Aaron and Jake walked in to the arena. Jake donned a pair of nunchuks while Aaron used his staff. Aaron swung at him while he blocked with the nunchuks. Aaron used his staff and hooked it on the chain holding it together and pulled them out of his hands. Aaron swung the staff and knocked him to the ground before pinning him with his staff. After the match, Aaron clutched his side feeling a searing pain that he tried to ignore as he took a seat on the bench. Aaron won his matches against a boy using a staff and a girl using kunai, and now he had made it to the final round; he was going to be fighting the girl that he met when he first went to the dojo.

She had a pair of nunchuks in her hands and smiled at Aaron as the sensei declared the match was to begin. She twirled the nunchuks and swung at Aaron who jumped back trying to dodge but fell on to his knee from the pain of his wound. Aaron winced as he stood up and swung his staff at her; she blocked it and hit him directly in the wound with her nunchuks. Aaron collapsed in pain while the sensei ran over. "The winner is Mindy." He said holding up the girl's arm while the crowd cheered.

Aaron clutched his staff for support as he stood up, scowled at Mindy, and walked off, but not before collapsing again. Ash and the others helped him up. "Come on. Let's get you back to Nurse Joy." May said helping Aaron up and walking him back to the Pokémon center where she confined him to bed rest and May made sure to help enforce it as she sat by his side making sure that he would rest. Every time Aaron would try to stand up, May would push him back down on to the bed to make sure that he stayed put; she even took the responsibility of feeding him even when he told her that he could feed himself. "You need to rest and relax." May said handing him a glass with a straw in it. Aaron drank from the glass and set it down. He yawned and laid down on the pillow closing his eyes to rest. "I'll let you get some sleep." May said standing up and kissing his forehead before walking out of the room.


	11. An Old Friend with Old Views

**If you enjoy this story feel free to fave and/or follow. If you have a critique, some blatant hate, or some positive praise, message me or leave a review.**

Aaron sat on the edge of the roof of the Pokémon Center playing a silver flute he had found in the Lost Plane. He watched the sun rise as he played the calming, serene tune. He didn't see her, but May was watching him play the tune. "Wow, he's really good." She thought to herself turning around to return to the others before Aaron spotted her. Aaron stopped playing the flute as he put it in his bag and headed back inside to change his bandages before setting out. The wound seemed to be healing, but it was still causing him pain and occasionally bleeding.

Nurse Joy changed the bandages for him and handed him some spares. "Don't go stressing yourself out. You'll excite the wound."

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises." Aaron said getting off the examination table and heading for the ferry to meet up with Ash and the others.

They stood on the boat headed for Slateport City talking about what they were going to do when they got there. "I'm going to enter the contest." May said excitedly.

"I'm going to check out the market." Brock said looking at a pamphlet with Ash and Max.

"How about we all do that?" May asked the group who smiled in agreement. She looked over at Aaron who was leaning over the edge of the boat rail. "What are you going to do in Slateport City?" May asked leaning beside him on the rail.

"I have a meeting at the museum." Aaron told her before walking away. When the boat docked in the harbor, May went to go practice her contest routine with Ash and Max while Brock went to go check in to the Pokémon Center.

Aaron walked in to the museum and looked at the receptionist. "I have a meeting with Professor Jennifer Holly."

She looked at her computer and typed something. "Downstairs conference hall, and don't forget to erase your mistakes."

"Thank you." Aaron said walking away. "What the heck does that mean?" He thought to himself as he entered the conference room and flicked the switch on. "Jenny?" Aaron asked out loud as he scanned the room. He saw several things written on the dry erase board. "Erase your mistakes." He thought to himself as he picked up the eraser and watched a panel in the wall slide up. Aaron walked down the dark corridor the panel closing behind him. He continued walking until he stopped at a metal door with a very dim light above it. Aaron saw a keypad and pressed a button and watched as a hologram screen popped out.

A girl, no older than eighteen with short, sandy brown hair with a ponytail in the back appeared. She took off her goggles revealing her light green eyes that looked at Aaron. "Aaron, it looks like you didn't have trouble finding this place." She smiled.

"Yeah, when you're stuck in a void for some weird amount of time, you learn to think." He said glaring at the screen.

"Okay, come on in." She said turning off the screen as the door opened. Aaron walked inside standing inside a combination of a laboratory and a workshop. The girl in front of him was wearing a lab coat with a blue t-shirt and a short red skirt underneath "It's so nice to finally meet you." She said hugging him. "Did you bring what I asked for?"

"Yeah, I got it right here." Aaron said reaching in to his backpack and pulling out what looked like a large diamond. He handed it to her.

"I can totally get the refractor to work with this." She ran over to a large machine in the corner and opened a hatch in the bottom where she inserted the diamond. "This machine can alter Pokémon's abilities and make them more suitable for certain skills or environments." She pulled a pokeball out of her lab coat pocket. "Come on out, Bulbasaur!" She said excitedly. The Pokémon hopped in to the machine knowing full well what was going on. Professor Holly began typing several configurations in to the computer console attached to the machine. "Here put these on." She said handing Aaron a pair of goggles. Aaron put them on as he watched her push a button on the console and the machine started to warm up. The Bulbasaur was blasted with an electric green light that enveloped it. When she turned off the machine, the Bulbasaur jumped out of the machine and smiled and let out an excited cry in its Pokémon talk. "Bulbasaur, vinewhip!" She shouted. The Pokémon shot out the vines which seemed thicker and stronger as they destroyed the target in front of them. "Bulbasaur, return." The Pokémon returned to its pokeball while Professor Holly jumped up and down excitedly. "It works. Thank you so much." She said giving Aaron a huge hug.

"Glad I could help, but I need to get going." Aaron said heading for the door.

"Wait, before you go don't you want to talk to me about something?" She asked the young boy.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Aaron said walking away thinking about the lie he told. "I'm not in the mood to talk about my feelings. The void screwed me up and that's it." Jenny sighed as she watched the boy leave her lab.

Aaron went to the market and purchased something to eat before heading to the Pokémon Center to meet up with Ash, May, Brock, and Max. He saw Jenny talking with them. "Aaron, how are your bandages?" May asked when she saw him walk over.

"Jenny, what are you doing here?" Aaron asked angrily.

"I was just talking with your friends." She said standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "No need to freak out."

"You know Professor Holly?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, she grew up in my town and was my old babysitter." Aaron admitted.

"Oh, so you guys are old friends." Brock smiled.

"Yep, it was my job to keep this little squirt out of trouble back in the day." Professor Holly said tussling Aaron's hair.

"I'm not a little kid anymore, so why don't you just back off?" Aaron stormed off angrily and locked himself in his room. He took off his shirt and saw the blood seeping through the bandages. He cleaned the wound before rewrapping the new bandages. He walked out of his room and made his way to the roof of the center. He sat on the ledge playing a sad tune on his flute as he looked at the waves and the ships moving by. "I'm not a little kid." He kept repeating to himself as he continued to play his flute.


	12. A Night of Mixed Emotions

Aaron had the glove containing his Xatu on as he started to focus. He was on the outskirts of the city practicing with his powers. He lifted the boulder in front of him a few inches off the ground before it fell back down. Aaron cursed loudly as he held up the glove containing his Lucario and blasted the boulder to pieces. It was the fifth boulder he had destroyed in his rage after another failed attempt at levitating it.

He didn't notice Professor Holly walk over until she started speaking which made him jump a little. "Anything you want to talk about?" She asked looking at the shattered boulders.

"No." Aaron told her as he tried to levitate another boulder only to smash it again with an aura sphere. "How did you find me?" He stopped his training as he took off the gloves and put them in his bag.

"I've known you since you were a little kid. I know how you act when you're mad." Holly smiled at him. "Look, I'm not here to talk about your feelings even though I think that we should." This earned a stern glare from Aaron. "I'm inviting you to a banquet one of my colleagues is holding tonight. All of your friends are going." She looked at him waiting for a response.

"I'll think about it." Aaron said turning away and walking off. Professor Holly sighed as she walked off to return to her lab.

Later that night, Aaron stood in the corner of a large banquet hall wearing a crisp black suit as he examined the room and the people in it. He sipped a glass of punch as Professor Holly walked over to him wearing a red dress. "You made it!" She smiled at him. "And you clean up pretty well."

"Thanks, so what are we here for?" Aaron asked looking at her with a cold expression.

"You really want to know?" Aaron nodded his head. "I think that there're people here who have capture crystals. I want to know who does and why." She said looking around nervously.

"Don't worry, I have it under control." Aaron pulled back his sleeve revealing a watch embezzled with one of the crystals. In his pocket, he also had a few crystals.

Just then, a man wearing a light gray suit with spiked, jet-black hair walked over. "Hi, I'm Reginald." He said shaking Aaron's hand. "And Professor Holly's boyfriend." He added making her blush.

"Oh, yeah, Aaron, this is my boyfriend, and my research funder." She said hugging Reginald.

"Really, I haven't heard anything about you." Aaron said examining him as he delivered a peck on the cheek to his girlfriend.

"Well, I've heard plenty about you, and Jenny seems to care a lot about you." Reginald said looking at Aaron. "Perhaps we can talk about your time away." He said looking at Aaron who glared at him.

"It's not something that I'm fond of talking about." Aaron said walking away.

He walked over to the punch bowl to refill his glass. Reginald stood next to him. "Maybe we can talk about the Lost Plane some other time. It's not like someone in this place has an arsenal of capture crystals and plans on using them to rule the world."

"What do you know?" Aaron asked turning to him.

"Not much. But I did manage to get my hands on this." He reached in to his pocket and pulled out a pocket watch with a gold colored capture crystal in the back of it. "Look, we don't need to talk about this now, but I suggest we do at some point before it's too late." Aaron nodded his head as Reginald walked away to go socialize.

Aaron walked out of the hall and on to a balcony looking out on to the docks. He leaned on the railing as he let out a sigh. "Having a good time?" May asked standing by the door. She stood there wearing a red ball gown with her bandanna tied in to a bow in her hair.

"Yeah, great." Aaron said sarcastically as he continued to look out at the dock.

May walked over and grabbed his arm. "Come on, you're going to come dance with me."

"I don't dance." Aaron said pulling his arm away.

"Well, you are tonight." May dragged him inside by his arm as she forced him on to the floor. Aaron sighed as he got in to the position and began moving with the music. "I thought you don't dance." May said smiling at him.

"I know how to. I just don't like to." Aaron told her.

"Well I like dancing with you." May said leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad that someone in this place is happy tonight." Aaron smiled briefly as they danced through the night together.

"Looks like May's having a good time." Brock said pointing at Aaron and her dancing together. He had danced with about every available girl at the party and was now relaxing as he sat down to enjoy some food.

"Yeah" Ash said smiling as he and his Pikachu sat back and relaxed. "And it looks like Max is having a good time." Ash said pointing at Max who was dancing with some of the guests' Pokémon. Just then, Ash's Pikachu was snatched up by a Delcatty that seemed eager to dance as it dragged him on to the floor. Brock and Ash just smiled as Pikachu started dancing with her.

Then the Delcatty's trainer walked over and took Ash by the arm; she had long blonde hair and shimmering green eyes. "It seems that our Pokémon like each other. How about we dance?" She said leading him on to the floor making Ash blush heavily as he started to dance with her.

Brock let out a small sigh as he found himself alone now with a plate of food and a cup in his hand. Just then, a girl with short blue hair walked over and smiled at him. "Want to dance?" She asked smiling. Brock immediately snapped out of his mood as he jumped from his chair and walked with her on to the dance floor.


	13. The Start of a New Quest

**Sorry for the lack of writing. I've been really busy with school lately.**

Aaron woke up early the next morning. A vision of purple lightning flashed in his eyes alerting him to a nearby portal. "Capture…crystals." He mumbled walking out of the Pokémon Center with his staff in his hand. The others were still asleep as he walked outside in to the cool morning air. Barely anyone was outside at this time. Only a few dockworkers, drifters, and late night partyers still roamed the streets. Aaron walked towards a small wooded area. The farther he walked, the more prominent certain noises became. Shouting was one of them. Before he even reached the source of the noise, Aaron came across what looked like an old cart. It was filled to the brim with capture crystals. He instinctively grabbed a few before pulling out his bag. Within minutes, the cart was up in flames. _No one good keeps that many crystals on hand._

He continued walking coming across a man wearing a cloak having a battle with two shady looking men who appeared to be wearing medieval attire. "Luxray, Thunder Fang!" He shouted as the Pokémon charged at a Swalot biting down on it which sent electricity flying everywhere. "Stay back, lad." He looked to Aaron who stood next to him.

"I took care of the cart. Let me handle these guys for you."

"Excellent, but these ruffians are my task."

"Enough chitchat." One of the goons said pulling out another capture crystal. "Tyranitar, Earthquake!" The Luxray fainted from the powerful attack.

"I've failed. Please stop them." He said falling to the ground. Lights began to surround him.

"I will. Come out Sandslash!" Aaron commanded as the Pokémon exited his staff. "Void Lightning!" He ordered. His Sandslash's claws glowed purple blasting the Tyranitar to the ground. "Gyro Ball." The Sandslash rolled in to a ball ramming the Tyranitar at an incredible speed causing it to faint. The goons turned to light as they vanished in to thin air. "Why haven't you vanished yet?" He knelt beside the man in the cloak.

He let out a soft chuckle. "I am an old soul." He coughed a little. "Sadly though, my time has come…" He coughed some more. "I ask if you will take my quest?"

"What is it?"

"No time to explain. I need your answer." His legs began to fade.

Aaron looked at him. "I accept your quest."

"You must find a way to the kingdom Finarn. There you must find an old gypsy woman. Not really though. She is more like a powerful witch who has made a dark deal with those of this present. Destroy her." The man managed to finish his statement before disappearing leaving behind his bag and cloak.

 _I will._

Aaron opened up the bag and began going through the contents of it. Inside was a small leather bound book. Closer inspection revealed it to be a journal. There was also a map, a few pieces of gold, some daggers of varying size and quality, a quill and ink, and a few small tools. He then took some time to examine the cloak. It was nicer than the one he had found on his first trip to the Lost Plane. The collar on the front could cover his mouth which he liked, there was also a bit of armor on the shoulders, and the fact that it was white was even better. Aaron put it on and muttered a spell causing it to adjust to his size. He really liked how he could hide the hood in the cloak as he pulled it up and then back down. He felt one of the pockets and reached inside pulling out some sort of pendant. It was an Arceus pendant, but instead of the usual gold and emerald green, it was silver with sapphires in it. _Must be for something else._ He put it on and tucked it in to his cloak. _I have a mission to do now._ He walked back to the Pokémon Center and to his room. He grabbed the rest of his things and wrote a note that he handed to Nurse Joy with instructions to give it to Ash and the others before leaving the center.

He walked out of the center and teleported back to his old hideout in Rustboro City. Everything was the way he had left it. He put away a few things in one of the chests. He changed in to a pair of black pants, a white t-shirt with black outlines on the sides, and his usual brown boots followed by the new cloak along with his staff in his hand and a brown shoulder bag on underneath the cloak. Inside, he had the man's journal, his journal, the map he found, some daggers, a quill and ink, several berries, a few extra capture crystals, some tools, and a metal card containing the crest he had designed. He had made the crest on account of the fact that several medieval worlds used them to identify people. He found it easier to have some form of identification based on previous experiences. It was a white shield with a purple tornado and purple lightning striking it.

Once he made sure that he had everything he needed, he walked to the ritual circle in the room. _To travel between worlds across time and space, I shatter the barriers and create a rift in time and space to build a bridge linking the worlds together._

At the same time, Ash and the others were getting ready to leave the Pokémon Center. "Hey, have you guys seen Aaron?" Max asked looking around.

The others all shook their heads as Nurse Joy walked over. "I was told to give you this." She handed Brock the note which he read to the group.

 _Sorry for leaving short notice. I was given a quest that requires me to leave for a while. If you see Reginald or Holly, tell them that I have the crystals under control. I'll catch up with you guys in a few weeks._

 _-Aaron_

"I'll text Professor Holly." May pulled out her pokenav and sent the message.

"Let's get going then." Ash said walking out of the center excited for the trip to Mauville City.


	14. Stranded

Aaron stepped outside of the portal finding himself just off a small dirt path. He saw a castle in the distance and began walking along the path towards it. As he neared the village, he could see a cart parked off to the side. The fabric was colorful and the wheels seemed a bit worn. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." An elderly voice went. Aaron slowly walked inside. "Hello young traveler. What can I do for thee?"

Aaron looked around the room and saw a small box of capture crystals sitting on a shelf. "Tell me about those." He put a hand to his waist reaching for the dagger holstered in it.

"Vision crystals dear. They help you see your future."

"Tauros." Aaron said tightening his grip on the dagger.

"I've never heard such tongues before. Are you possessed? I do sell spirit tapes." She held one up to Aaron who knocked it from her hand. In his other hand he pulled out his dagger and held it to the woman's neck.

"I know who you are."

"And I was told to be careful of you." She pulled a wand from her pocket with a purple stone in it. She waved it closing the door to the cart and again throwing Aaron against a wall. "Such a shame to kill one this young."

Aaron hurled a dagger at her. She noticed the dagger in her arm and continued walking forward only to be blasted by a gust of wind from Aaron. "Xatu, psychic." The Pokémon emerged from the crystal and levitated the woman upward before dropping her. "Such a shame that I have to kill you." Aaron said knocking a few shelves over and breaking open the door to the cart.

"Something I can leave you." The woman waved her wand at Aaron from under the mass of object hitting him with a spell. Aaron felt nothing as he recalled his Pokémon, walked outside, and pulled a lighter from his bag. The cart burst into flames as he walked off into the woods.

He drew the circle in the ground and recited the spell. Nothing happened. He tried again, nothing. "Why isn't this working?" He cursed loudly. He then remembered the woman casting a spell. "She sealed my powers." Aaron calmed himself down before walking back on to the path. He saw a boy with short blonde hair instructing several guards to put out the cart fire.

"You there!" He called out to Aaron running over to him. "I have not seen you here before. What is your purpose?"

"To destroy that witch." Aaron pointed to the cart. "However, she sealed my powers, and now I can't get home."

The boy looked over at Aaron. He paused and whispered something to one of the guards. "You shall come with me. Tomorrow we shall attend classes at the school."

"Sir…" The guard speaking was cut off by him.

"He comes with me. Come along traveler." He motioned to Aaron who had no better option than to follow him. "My father will want to have words with you." Aaron nodded his head following the boy through a well guarded gate and down a cobblestone path towards the castle.

"You live here?"

"Yes, I am the prince." The drawbridge lowered as they walked forward. A woman wearing a long gown was waiting at the front.

"Prince Luke, you come back with a guest." She walked forward and curtsied to him. "Your father wishes to see you and most likely, this traveler."

"Thank you, Elaine." He then turned to Aaron. "Pardon me, but I have not learned your name."

"Aaron."

"Well Aaron, let us go to meet my father." He started walking down the hall with Aaron following behind him. Aaron took notice of the columns, the statues and the armor decorating the castle. They walked into a room where a man sat in a large throne next to a woman. Both of them wore crowns on their heads. Aaron walked forward and got down on one knee bowing his head.

"Rise up young traveler and tell me your purpose for being in my kingdom."

"Finishing the quest of one of your lost knights, to destroy the witch and her cart."

"I issued no such quest. To the dungeon with this blasphemous lunatic." Two guards grabbed Aaron and began to drag him away.

"Sire, stop." A man wearing glasses and long robes said running into the room. "I issued the quest."

"For what purpose?" The king halted the guards who let Aaron down.

"Ensuring the safety of our future and protecting his world."

"So why does he not go home?" The king asked motioning to Aaron.

"My magic has been sealed by the witch."

"Silence!" The king yelled at him. "Why can you not send him home?" He motioned to the spectacled man.

"I do not have his power or any more of the runes required to imitate it."

"Is there a way to get him home?"

"Yes sire, I just need time to figure it out." The man ran off with the king yelling something at him.

"As for you, you will stay in the castle as my guest. It is the least that I can do to apologize for my wizard's gross incompetence. Elaine will take you to your room along with Prince Luke who left the castle without my permission once more."

"Sorry father." Elaine walked into the room motioning for the boys to follow her.

"Come along boys." She walked out of the room with both of them following behind her. "This one will be your room." She opened a door revealing a large bed, a closet, and a writing desk. "If you need something, please ask one of the guards in the hall." She curtsied before walking Luke to his room.

"I'll have to try to make the most of this place." Aaron sighed setting his bag down on the bed.


End file.
